[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 88 (Monday, May 7, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20070-20071]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09650]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2018-0192; FRL-9976-55]


Dinotefuran; Receipt of Applications for Emergency Exemptions, 
Solicitation of Public Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: EPA has received specific exemption requests from the Delaware 
Department of Agriculture (DDA), the Maryland Department of Agriculture 
(MDA), the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) and the 
Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) to use 
the insecticide dinotefuran (CAS No. 165252-70-0) to treat up to 58,118 
acres of pome and stone fruits to control the brown marmorated 
stinkbug. The applicants propose uses which are supported by the 
Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) and have been requested 
in 5 or more previous years, and petitions for tolerances have not yet 
been submitted to the Agency. Therefore, EPA is soliciting public 
comment before making the decision whether to grant the exemptions.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 22, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2018-0192, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Do not submit 
electronically any information you consider to be Confidential Business 
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted 
by statute.
     Mail: OPP Docket, Environmental Protection Agency Docket 
Center (EPA/DC), (28221T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 
20460-0001.
     Hand Delivery: To make special arrangements for hand 
delivery or delivery of boxed information, please follow the 
instructions at https://www.epa.gov/dockets/where-send-comments-epa-dockets.
    Additional instructions on commenting or visiting the docket, along 
with more information about dockets generally, is available at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael L. Goodis, Registration 
Division (7505P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-
0001; main telephone number: (703) 305-7090; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    You may be potentially affected by this action if you are an 
agricultural producer, food manufacturer, or pesticide manufacturer. 
The following list of North American Industrial Classification System 
(NAICS) codes is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a 
guide to help readers determine whether this document applies to them. 
Potentially affected entities may include:
     Crop production (NAICS code 111).
     Animal production (NAICS code 112).
     Food manufacturing (NAICS code 311).

[[Page 20071]]

     Pesticide manufacturing (NAICS code 32532).

B. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
www.regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark the part or all of the 
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or 
CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as 
CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the 
specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one 
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as 
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information 
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. 
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with 
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
    2. Tips for preparing your comments. When preparing and submitting 
your comments, see the commenting tips at https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
    3. Environmental justice. EPA seeks to achieve environmental 
justice, the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of any group, 
including minority and/or low income populations, in the development, 
implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and 
policies. To help address potential environmental justice issues, the 
Agency seeks information on any groups or segments of the population 
who, as a result of their location, cultural practices, or other 
factors, may have atypical or disproportionately high and adverse human 
health impacts or environmental effects from exposure to the 
pesticide(s) discussed in this document, compared to the general 
population.

II. What action is the agency taking?

    Under section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (7 U.S.C. 136p), at the discretion of the EPA 
Administrator, a Federal or State agency may be exempted from any 
provision of FIFRA if the EPA Administrator determines that emergency 
conditions exist which require the exemption. The DDA, MDA, PDA and 
VDACS have requested the EPA Administrator to issue specific exemptions 
for the use of dinotefuran on pome and stone fruits to control the 
brown marmorated stinkbug. Information in accordance with 40 CFR part 
166 was submitted as part of the requests.
    As part of the requests, the applicants assert that the rapid 
spread of large outbreaks of the brown marmorated stinkbug (a recent 
invasive species) resulted in an urgent and non-routine pest control 
situation that is expected to cause significant economic losses without 
the requested uses. The Applicants propose to make no more than two 
applications at a rate of 0.203 to 0.304 lb. (maximum of 0.608 lb.) of 
dinotefuran per acre, on up to 58,118 acres of pome and stone fruit 
grown in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia from April 1 to 
October 15, 2018. A total of 35,335 lbs. of dinotefuran could be used 
(maximum acreage at highest rate).
    This notice does not constitute a decision by EPA on the 
applications themselves. The regulations governing FIFRA section 18 at 
40 CFR 166.24(7), require publication of a notice of receipt of an 
application for a specific exemption proposing a use which is supported 
by the Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) and has been 
requested in 5 or more previous years, and a petition for tolerance has 
not yet been submitted to the Agency. The notice provides an 
opportunity for public comment on the application. The Agency, will 
review and consider all comments received during the comment period in 
determining whether to issue the specific exemptions requested by the 
DDA, MDA, PDA and VDACS.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.

    Dated: April 17, 2018.
Michael L. Goodis,
Director, Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 2018-09650 Filed 5-4-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P